Thursday, March 26, 2015

There is 3 in tres leches!

(but there are no tres leches in this post, sorry)

This past weekend marked three years for David and me. I can't believe how quickly three years have already gone by! He had planned a really lovely day-trip, but unfortunately we got snowed out that morning (and right after the Spring Equinox too).. Nevertheless, we got to celebrate! A few highlights - we made it to brunch at Zaftigs after a recently failed attempt (they are just too popular) and finally watched Despicable Me (him for the first time). We also got some tasty plates at The Butcher Shop for dinner, including The Most Delicious Steak (that we've ever had???) and a surprisingly delicious steak tartare (which I initially thought looked like Ragu...oops). By dinner time, the skies had cleared up and we were able to walk around to get some much-needed exercise (and froyo, of course). Hooray!!

Just before heading to dinner from the garage - it was finally clear!

Petite charcuterie. Can't remember what each thing was.. but they were tasty!

Steak tartare, pickled onions, and super buttery toast

The best steak we've ever had! I think it was "Wagyu"?


David also prepared another surprise for me - a Cricut Explore! I seriously couldn't believe it when he brought it in!! The Cricut is a super cool printer-type machine that can automatically cut out custom designs (and can draw them too)! I first learned about Cricut several years ago while designing wedding invitations for some friends. Since then, I'd entertained the thought of getting one several times but ultimately decided it was too much of a splurge. I even tried entering contests to win one, but to no avail (little did I know...)


It's a lot bigger than I imagined!

He took almost 80 pictures of me unboxing it, so of course I had to make a movie
(this does not include all 80 photos)

I've done papercutting for a while, starting around middle/high school. I took a little hiatus during college, resurfacing for little projects here and there, but I recently started doing more for fun and for friends/family. I've also been doing more wedding designs for friends, and (this is a secret, shh!!) have been contemplating opening up a store sometime in the future. David has always encouraged me to keep pursuing my dreams despite my own doubts and misgivings, and this gift pointed me again to exactly that. Thank you, David, for your patient and steady love, support, and mutual chiseling through these years -- Happy three years!!!


:D :D

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Knitting season and projects talk

We're finally getting to see some sidewalk (as well as leftover doggy poo from before-the-snow-storms) and snow-meltage here! We had a couple very warm deceptively hopeful days that caused this change, but Spring is not meant to be just yet... Even so, I take the recent rain and sidewalk reveal to mean that knitting season is almost over (ok, it's never over!! It's just harder to wear the things that I knit during the warmer months).

I finished a few more projects recently!

A pair of handwarmers for my roommate's birthday (one is slightly longer than the other... oops!)
Yet another cozy for my thermos to keep it super extra warm

I still have two more on my list, one already started and the other still in the sketchbooks, but I'm hoping to finish them before the Spring sets in so that maaaybe I can get one wear out of them before storing them away! One is a scarf, and the other is a Norwegian-star patterned earflap hat - probably one of the more ambitious projects for me right now since I haven't done much fair isle before. Ok, so that one might not be done before Spring begins...


In other making-things news since my last post:


blueberry mini cheesecakes (a little squished)
juggling pompoms
card
with 3d lettering
brioche scarf, a la Kei! 


The brioche scarf was directly copied from Kei's scarf :) It took me so long to finally finish! I think Kei's scarf is a lovelier shade of maroon, but I like this all the same! The brioche stitch makes it SO soft, plushy, stretchy, and warm.

All in all, it's been a pretty crazy month in general and I'm pretty shocked at how quickly it's already gone by! To be fair, February is a short month. Right now, if I were a student again, it would be Spring break! Too bad we don't get those anymore though... I guess that is what vacations are for?

For now, I'll keep jotting down some hopes and dreams for warmer weather, and madly try to finish the last of these on-hold projects in the meantime!